Five ed-tech trends to watch for the new school year

These trends have important implications for K-12 education this year—and beyond

The “maker movement” makes waves in K-12 schools, and school leaders try to navigate a data privacy minefield while also bracing for online testing: These are among the top ed-tech trends to watch for the new school year.

Last week, we counted down the top five ed-tech stories to watch for 2014-15. Here, for your convenience, we’ve assembled these stories in one place. (Click on each of the headlines below to read the full story.)

How are you approaching these trends in your own schools? What other ed-tech stories will you be watching closely this school year? Share your thoughts in the comments section below—we’d love to hear from you.

As the new school year begins, “maker spaces” are cropping up in countless schools and libraries nationwide. Here’s why the maker movement has quickly grown in popularity—and how it helps meet a critical need in schools.

After the high-profile demise this past spring of inBloom, a controversial nonprofit organization that aimed to build a national, cloud-based student data system to improve education, school leaders face a puzzle: How can they balance the privacy concerns of stakeholders with the need to collect and analyze information about their students?

No. 3 on our list of top ed-tech stories for the new school year is the trend toward students using many different devices while at school, which has important implications for how K-12 leaders design their networks.

No. 2 on our list of key ed-tech trends for the new school year is the dramatic overhaul of the eRate, the nation’s school wiring program. While there will be more money available for Wi-Fi networks and other internal connections, support for voice-related services will be phased out over five years—and here’s what these changes will mean for schools.

Next spring, new state exams tied to the Common Core standards in reading and math will be given for the first time in more than 40 states—and there are big questions about whether schools and their students will be ready.